


FOCUS

by LiliMane



Series: 7 Days of Words, Words, Words [1]
Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: F/M, Features an Ode to Isak's Red Scarf, M/M, Magnus and Even being Bffs, SkamFicWeek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 17:03:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11810358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiliMane/pseuds/LiliMane
Summary: ❁❁❁ SkamFicWeek | Day 1 - Accidental/Fake Dating ❁❁❁Isak and Even fall in love before even attempting to fake-date. It happens.Isak gets up from the bed and speed walks to the kitchen. Magnus is there, sniffing a bunch of cookies his girlfriend apparently brought for them. When he notices Isak, he lifts up his head and shouts, all smiles.“Ah! Smell them, Isak! Smell them! It’s love!”“It’s cookies.” Isak walks up to the counter and sits on it.“Love and cookies. The greatest combination.” Magnus manages to say before he’s stuffing his face. Isak rolls his eyes at him, probably for the hundredth time this weekend.“Magnus, stop stuffing your face with love. I need you to tell me about Even. Things are super awkward and we only texted. The real-life conversation is going to be hell.”Magnus looks at him as if Isak’s crazy. “Conversation with Even is always nothing but pure pleasure! I told you, the guy has a way with words, he can talk about anything. It’s going to go perfectly smoothly.”“God, Magnus, stop spitting crumbs at me and help me."





	1. I.ISAK Part 1 - WHITE

**Author's Note:**

> It's a bit late, but it's here!  
> My contribution to SkamFicWeek. It was supposed to be a drabble, but ended up being 6 chapters. I don't how it happened, I really don't. The next six parts are going to be a lot shorter, and most probably all of them will be oneshots.
> 
> I hope you'll have fun reading :)

It all ends and begins in Isak's room. That's how it goes, living every day as if on a loop, creating an illusion of going forwards but always ending in the same place, with him always feeling the same things by the end of the day – weariness and disappointment. The disappointment is usually dulled by the weariness, thank God, and Isak is able to fall asleep, but only to find the same ceiling again the next morning. Isak isn't sure why he keeps expecting something unusually exciting to happen, since he doesn't really make an effort for his day to end or begin in a different place, or with someone else than himself.

  
Isak goes through his usual days repeating the same pattern of mundane activities – going to school, then to work, sometimes meeting friends. Most of his free time is spent on lounging around the house, especially in his room, since his roommates tend to bring his significant others home, according to Isak, more often than it is appropriate (which would be about 3-4 times a week). Why don’t they live with their girlfriends if they love’em so much? Why would you choose to live with two other guys when you can build your own love nest with the one you love? “Because we love you, too, and, unlike our girlfriends, you need constant reminding that it’s okay to go out and live your life once in a while”, is always their answer. Well, it’s Mahdi’s answer, to be exact. When faced with that question, Magnus most often just nods frantically while chewing on his girlfriend’s newest experiment in cooking, usually in the form of a cake. “You’re gonna get fat if you keep stuffing your face so much with those sweets, or worse, get diabetes” Isak says every time he catches him munching on his girlfriend’s delicacies. “She wouldn’t mind if I got fat or got diabetes”, is usually Magnus’ reply. _Yeah, but would you mind is the real question_ , thinks Isak. Wouldn’t you mind going back to your not-so-attractive-self you were in high school? He’s not going to say it out loud, though. Not when he’s sure Magnus is never going to let him live it down if he admits he thinks Magnus is much more attractive than he used to be. You can be gay and notice a guy is attractive without being actually attracted to him. Isak isn’t sure if Magnus realizes that, though. And, yes, he has a tendency to underestimate one of his closest friends, but he’d still rather not risk saying any of his thoughts regarding Magnus’ outer appearance out loud. Just to be safe. Just in case Magnus decides to spout a million embarrassing and useless questions about his sexuality again. He never means harm and never causes it by asking them, but that doesn’t mean Isak always feels like humoring him. And, as much as he loves and appreciates his presence in his life, sometimes, Isak just wants Magnus to shut up. Like, right now. Right now would be a great moment for Magnus to shut up.  
They’re in the kitchen – Magnus rummaging through the depths of their mini-fridge, trying to find the remainings of the chocolate cake his girlfriend left them a week ago, and Isak is making himself dinner (it’s not frozen pizza. And even it is, it’s still better than a cake for dinner).

  
“So, I talked to Even a few days ago.”

  
Oh, God. Here we go. The famous Even. The can-never-do-wrong-Even. The ambitious-artist-slash-photographer-Even. The the-greatest-person-in-the-world Even. The hot-as-fuck-not-that-I’m-gay Even. Isak’s been hearing stories about this Even for almost a year now. Magnus met him in one of his classes at UiO and, ever since then, he couldn’t shut up about him. Isak felt like he knew Even’s whole life story by now, while at the same time suspecting he’s nothing but a figment of Magnus’ imagination, because no one could be as perfect as Even. Well, if Even in fact is real, he probably isn’t nearly as close to being perfect as Magnus always deems him to be. He’s probably just obsessed with him and blowing everything Even does or says out of proportion. And, according to Magnus, everything Even does or says is a fucking miraculous event. How does your girlfriend feels about your relationship with Even, Isak wonders.

  
“Oh, yeah?”

  
Isak isn’t even trying to feign interest, desperately hoping his frozen pizza will manage to unfreeze itself much faster than the microwave indicates. Not another Even story, please.

  
“Yeah.”

  
Magnus leans on the counter while poking the cake with his fork, separating the raisins from the cream. “He’s in a bit of a...situation.”

  
“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m sure he can find his way out of any trouble he’s in, considering his impeccable getting-out-of-trouble skills.”

  
“Well, that’s the thing.” Magnus continues, oblivious to both the sarcasm and disinterest clearly present in Isak’s voice. “He might need some help this time. And...I can’t really help him, which sucks balls.”

  
“Yeah, that must suck so much.” Isak deadpans, trying to burn holes into the microwave quietly working on getting his dinner ready for him. “Major balls.” Isak continues, trying to remember when was the last time he’d watched porn.

  
“Yeah, I mean, if I could, I would totally help him, you know. But, with the whole I-have-a-girlfriend-thing it’s not really possible, you know?” Magnus glances at Isak and if Isak was any less disinterested in what Magnus was saying, he’d probably somewhat catch up on what the deal with Even might have been about. “But, since you’re single, and I’ve talked to you about him so much that one could say that you basically know the guy, I thought that maybe you could be of some help to him in this situation.”

  
Okay, 30 seconds left on the clock. Isak will soon be freed of this boring conversation and will be able to enjoy both this sweaty pizza and the sight of some sweaty bodies on his laptop before sleep takes him.

  
“What situation?”

  
”The you-could-maybe-pretend-to-be-his-boyfriend-for-some-time-because-he’s-said-that-he-had-one-and-now-that-he’s-back-in-town-his-friends-want-to-meet-him-situation?”

  
Oh, the long-awaited ding comes. Also comes the moment when Isak finally starts paying attention to Magnus.

  
“The what situation?”

  
“Well, you know, he went through a rough breakup, and he said he had a boyfriend to get his friends off his back, and now he’s back from his internship in Stockholm and they’re really pressing him on meeting the boyfriend, saying he’s not even real because he’d never showed them a picture of him, and stuff. I mean, he did show him the picture yesterday.”

  
Isak tries really hard to understand most of Magnus’ unclear mumbling about the situation he still didn’t get that much.

  
“Okay... So if they saw the picture of the boyfriend, then it’s fine. They can meet him and everything will be fine.”

  
“Exactly!” Magnus’ face lights up and he drops the fork he’d been eating cake with on the ground. “I _knew_ you’d understand and help him. He’s too good of a guy to not help him!”

  
Okay, what’s going on. The more focused on the conversation Isak grows, the more confused he is by it. After noticing Isak’s sheepish stare, Magnus exclaims, as if it was obvious: “The picture! It was you in the picture!”

  
What.

  
“After he explained the situation to me yesterday, even more clearly than I did to you right now, I mean, he really has a way with words, and asked me if I knew anyone who could help him out, I sent him a picture of you and he agreed!”

  
Isak is growing more confused by the minute. ”What? Agreed to what?”

  
”To you pretending to be his boyfriend until he can get his friends off his back and pretend-break up with you.” Magnus huffs, as if it all was more than obvious. He then cheerfully goes back to eating the cake. Isak just stands there, having completely forgotten about his dinner that was still in the microwave, and tries to assess the level of future fuckery that Magnus might have chosen to subject him to.

  
“I’m not doing any of that. What the hell, Mags?” Magnus stops eating the cake and looks at him with tremor in his eyes. Who’s the dramatic one? Definitely not Isak. “How could you send a picture of me to some stranger? Is your phone suddenly a dating app? Or, a pretend dating app? Like, what were you thinking? Ugh, forget it. Just tell him to delete the picture and find someone else for your weird little games.”

  
Magnus puts down his fork and straightens his back, face dead serious. “This is _not_ a game, Isak. His friends were worried sick about him after his breakup, worrying he might lose his shit-“ Magnus stops mid-sentence and decides to start again. “I mean, he’s an emotional person, Isak. That breakup took a toll on him and everyone could see it. If you were his friend, you _would have_ seen it. I saw it. But he didn’t want them to worry about him, especially since he was going away for the whole semester and they couldn’t keep an eye on his...moods, so he just chose to lie. So that they could carry on with their lives, while he was away and tried to mend his broken heart.”

  
_Oh, God. Magnus is definitely the dramatic one out of the two of them._

  
“But now he’s back, and his friends, I mean, excluding me, of course, since I knew about the lie all along, are pressing him about the boyfriend. If he tells them you- I mean, they’ve broken up before they even meet him, they’ll know. They’ll know he was lying to them to not make them worry. And the whole thing will start over again. They’ll act overprotective and shit. And if they see he’s moved on and he’s happy now, with his PERFECT boyfriend,” Magnus gestures dramatically at Isak, who scrunches his face, “they’ll be able to go back to how they were, you know. Treating Even as their equal again.”

  
“As their equal? What do you mean?”

  
“I mean, like, just a regular guy, you know. Someone they don’t have to worry over, or, like, walk on tiptoes around, and just talk and joke around with him, like they used to. You get the gist.”

  
Isak didn’t get the gist. After his first and only breakup, the guys simply offered to take him drinking and Eskild took him to a gay bar “for a rebound” that never took place. I mean, yeah, maybe it wasn’t a big love story, he was just dating a guy he’d met during his first year at UiO for like 4 months, but still. No one felt like they had to tiptoe around Isak. Why is everyone treating Even like he’s made of glass? I mean, breakups happen. Hearts get broken. You pick up the pieces and go back to your room to stare at your ceiling.

  
“Okay, whatever. It’s not a game. Still, whatever it is, I’m not taking any part of it.” Isak finally opens the microwave and takes his dinner out. Fuck, burns.

  
“Shit. Do you know where the mittens are?” Magnus takes him in for a moment, sighs dramatically and finally mumbles: “There are three 22-year-old men in this apartment. Each one of us either eats frozen stuff, gets lunch from the cafeteria or orders in. Why would you assume there are mittens in this apartment?” Isak rolls his eyes. He could’ve just said no. _Why is Magnus being so dramatic today? God._

  
“Okay. Whatever.”

  
“But...” Magnus lifts up a finger into the air. “...My lovely girlfriend left hers here the last time she prepared a delicious chocolate cake, so, here.” He takes the pink mittens out of one of the cupboards next to the fridge.  
“Thanks.” Isak puts them on and takes his plate to his room. Before he closes the door, he hears Magnus say “You’ll think about it, yeah?” Isak rolls his eyes again and quietly retrieves to his room.  
   
Once he sits down on his bed and turns on the laptop he knows he wouldn’t get any pleasure out of watching any type of video he had in mind while standing in the kitchen and barely listening to Magnus’s Even-related monologue. _Ugh. Now it’s going to be stuck in my head. I’m not even hungry anymore._ He starts shifting on the bed, looking for the most comfortable position to eat his dinner, when Magnus knocks and shoves his head through the barely opened door. “His last name is Bech Næsheim.” Isak furrows his brows. “Okay…” “Just so you know.” Magnus shrugs and closes the door behind him. Oh, for fucks sake. Is he that predictable? Well, now that he knows both his first and last name, he might as well. Isak types in Even’s full name and begins his internet investigation.  
   
After an hour and a pizza, he knows he isn’t going to find anything else than the photos that Even took himself (which look pretty impressive, even if you know nothing about photography). The guy has his portfolio all over the Internet, but his face is nowhere to be found. Not that Isak would consider going with that little not-game of his if he saw him and decided he considered him attractive. He just, wants to make sure what he might be in for. So far, he knows that Even was hired by an (apparently) famous photography company during his second year at UiO after his photographs were noticed during an international photography contest. He’s studying film and went away to Stockholm to assist on a film set. Probably getting coffee. Still, more exciting than what Isak is doing with his life. Getting coffee on a film set in a strange country is definitely more exciting than munching on pizza in your room, living in a shared apartment with two of your high school friends. Ugh. The feeling of annoyance Isak feels each time Magnus is talking about how wonderful Even is comes back to him and finds its place in his heart. It’s nothing unusual, considering that Isak often gets annoyed with people who have even a tad bit more interesting life than he has. Fuck it, he thinks, gets up from his bed and walks out of his room only to find Magnus lying on the couch in the living room smiling at his phone.  
   
“Magnus.” Isak walks up to him.  
   
“Hm? Yeah? What’s up?” Magnus looks up at him, a dopey smile on his face. Probably texting his girlfriend.  
   
“Why are you so happy? Did you girl sent you a sexy photo of a cake?” Magnus’ eyes widen.

  
“What the…How did you know?”  
   
“Whatever.” Isak shakes his head and sits on the couch, forcing Magnus to change positions and sit up as well. “So…show me.” A look of disbelief, then mischief paints his friend’s face.  
   
“Okay, Isak. Maybe, in high school, I would. I probably totally would. But now, you know, I’m not a single man anymore, I’m very happy in my relationship…”  
   
“Oh God, shut up and show me the photo you sent him.”  
   
“Oh. Sure.” Magnus’ excitement can be felt from across the apartment. He jumps up a bit in his seat and finds the text messages he’s recently exchanged with Even. “I can show you the whole conversation, if you want.”  
   
“Uh…okay then.” Magnus scrolls up a fair amount of messages and hands his phone to Isak, who tries to ignore the heart symbol Magnus has  saved next to Even’s name and begins reading.  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:12**  
Sorry for burdening you with this amount of information and thanks again for listening to me  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:13**  
Burdening?! I’m always happy to hear you out bro  <3 <3 <3  
   
I was actually thinking about what you said yesterday and I think I could help you out  
I mean a friend of mine could be maybe willing to do this  
I’ll have to ask him first  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:16**  
Really? Wow that’s great Mags!  
Even if he refuses I’m glad you’d be willing to ask someone to help  
   
   
Isak rolls his eyes. _Is he writing a formal letter or texting with a friend?_  
   
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:17**  
I mean, he’s my only friend who’s single so  
   
  
_Thanks, Mags._  
   
   
I’ll make sure to talk to him as soon as I can  <3  
   
  
_God, what is up with the amount of hearts he’s sending him? What exactly is their relationship? Wait._ It’s not Isak’s business anyway and he doesn’t care.  
   
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:17**  
What about me? I’m not single?  
   
MAGNUS  
21:18  
Not according to the official story ;p  
   
   
Isak’s face scrunches. _This is weirdly homoerotic. And off-putting._  
   
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:19**  
Wait  
I’m probably getting ahead of myself but if you wanted to check how he looks like..  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:21**

****

**MAGNUS**  
**21:24**  
?  
Are you there?  
I totally understand if you had to go  
   
**EVEN**  
**21:25**  
I’m here  
Is that him?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:26**  
Yup  
I mean it’s an old photo  
From like a year ago or something  
I don’t have any recent ones  
But he looks pretty much the same  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:28**  
No worries  
So  
You think he’d be willing to help me out?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:31**  
Have to ask him  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:31**  
When?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:31**  
We live together so we see each other quite often ;p  
   
_Ugh. Stop using that emoji._  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:32**  
So today or  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:32**  
I think tomorrow  
I’m staying over at Adela’s tonight  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:33**  
Oh okay  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:33**  
Yeah gotta go I’m meeting her in like 5 minutes  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:34**  
You think he’ll do it?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:34**  
Uh I hope so  
He owes me like a ton of favours so  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:34**  
Oh so like  
He’d do it out of obligation?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:35**  
Maybe  
But he’s a good guy  
And I talk to him about you a lot so it’s almost like you’re friends already ;p  
   
   
_GOD. There it is again!_  
   
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:36**  
What do you say about me?  
Mags?  
   
**MAGNUS**  
**21:36**  
Shit Adela’s calling  
Just normal stuff  
How great you are ;p  
   
_UGHHH_  
   
Gotta go  
   
**EVEN <3**  
**21:37**  
Okay  
Have fun!  
I hope she’s gonna bake something good :)  
   
   
Isak slowly hands the phone over to Magnus, who is watching him intently. “I feel like I need to take a shower.” Isak mutters and stands up from the couch.

  
“So, are you gonna do it?” Magnus says, voice filled with excitement and anticipation.

  
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” Isak stands in the doorway leading to their small bathroom and turns around so that he’s facing his friend. Or traitor. He doesn’t know yet. “I mean, I just have to, like, meet his friends while holding his hand, right?”

  
Magnus ponders a bit. “Well, I think you should, like, come up with a story first. Of how you met and stuff. And I think it’ll be far too obvious that you just met if you don’t spend some time together first.” He wiggles is eyebrows. “You know, like in movies? They sometimes ask actors to get to know each other so that the chemistry is more convincing and shit.”

  
“Ugh. Some people just don’t look good together, you know. They say they love each other but each time you see them they look like they hate being around each other. That’s just how it is sometimes, Mags. Not everyone is, like, a cute couple that people love, you know?”

  
Magnus’ face falls. “You could make at least some effort, though. It would at least give you something to do with your free time.”

  
“Ugh. Also, it’s unfair that he saw me and I don’t even know what he looks like. Don’t you have any photos of him? You love him so much, you must have taken some.”

  
“Um, actually, no. He doesn’t like it when people take photos of him. He prefers to take photos of other people. He says it lets him have more focus on what’s around him and, like, people, and their stories.”

  
Isak rolls his eyes. “Ugh. Sounds pretentious.”

  
Magnus nods. “Yeah, he’s very smart.”

  
“I don’t think you know what pretentious means, Mags.” Isak groans and slouches to the bathroom, closing the door behind him carelessly.

  
“Can I give him your number?” he hears Magnus’ over excitedly shout at him.

“No! Just…Don’t send anything to him! Don’t even text!”

  
Isak decides to sleep on it and not give Magnus any definite answers yet. He goes to bed and starts staring at the pure white ceiling above him. Pure white. How boring.


	2. I.ISAK Part 2 - COOKIES

**ISAK**

**13:13**

Hi, it’s Isak

**EVEN**

**13:14**

Who?

 

_What the fuck. Who the fuck am I? That’s gonna be a tough one. I don’t have to get all existential on him, though._

 

**ISAK**

**13:15**

Magnus’s friend

The guy from the photo

 

_God. It feels like I’m on a dating site ever and I’m trying to promote myself in the most awkward way. ‘The guy from the photo, did you think I was cute ;) ;)’ Ughh._

 

**EVEN**

**13:15**

Oh sorry!

Magnus didn’t tell me your name and he wasn’t replying to my messages after he’s sent me the photo

Is everything alright with him?

 

_Yeah he’s alright. He hasn’t been replying ‘cause I told him not to._

 

**ISAK**

**13:16**

He’s okay.

I think he’s going to reply to you soon

 

**EVEN**

**13:16**

I’ve been wondering what your name was

 

**ISAK**

**13:16**

Well

It’s Isak

So now you know

 

_God. This is cringeworthy._

 

**EVEN**

**13:17**

I’m Even :)

 

**ISAK**

**13:17**

I know

I thought we could, like, come up with a story and set up an appointment or something

 

_Set up an appointment? Is he your dentist? Is he gonna look inside your mouth, that’s the question. Ugh. Shut up thoughts._

 

**EVEN**

**13:18**

Of  course!

So you’ve decided to help me?

 

**ISAK**

**13:18**

I don’t know yet

We’ll see how it goes

 

**EVEN**

**13:18**

Oh okay. Of course

Isak is lying on his bed, indulging in the most awkward text conversation he’s ever had. And he’s been texting with his parents quite often lately. He’s beet red even though he can’t even see the guy. _How awkward is this gonna be once they meet up?_

 

**EVEN**

**13:19**

I’m meeting the guys tomorrow, but we can do it some other time

We meet at least 3 times a week so there’s no hurry

 

**ISAK**

**13:19**

Ok

His mind’s gone completely blank. Is it because he’s finally having a conversation, well, a semi-conversation with the guy he’s been hearing about for a year? _The stuff of legends. God, I’m texting with a fucking unicorn. At least I know what a unicorn looks like. Fuck it, I’m just gonna ask straight up._

 

**ISAK**

**13:20**

Could you send me a photo?

 

**EVEN**

**13:20**

Of course!

It’s Stockholm :)

It’s really beautiful

I just got back, went there for an internship

 

_Wow. Thinking he’s funny while making it more awkward for me to ask again. Didn’t know unicorns were such little shits._

 

**ISAK**

**13:21**

Looks great

Did you have fun there?

 

_I’m not interested though_

 

I thought like a photo of you so I can recognize you once we meet

 

**EVEN**

**13:22**

Yeah it was great

Gained a lot of experience

I don’t have any photo of me on my phone but I’m gonna ask my friend to take one now so it might take a few minutes

 

_Uh, okay. He’s with a friend and he’s texting me?_

 

**13:31**

 

**EVEN**

**13:34**

?

Are you there?

Did you get it?

 

**ISAK**

**13:35**

Yeah

I’m okay

I mean I got it

 

**EVEN**

**13:36**

Are you still up for it?

 

**ISAK**

**13:37**

I haven’t made my mind up yet but yeah

Why wouldn’t I be

 

**EVEN**

**13:38**

I don’t know

Maybe you’ve changed your mind once you saw how I looked like or smth

 

**ISAK**

**13:39**

It’s a pretend dating so looks don’t matter

I just wanted the picture to be able to recognize you when we meet

 

_LIES. LIES. LIES. What a terrible liar you are Valtersen. Very lying, very gay Valtersen. Now gay more than ever, if that was possible._

**EVEN**

**13:40**

Oh of course yeah

So, should I call you, or are we going to set up the meeting now

 

**ISAK**

**13:41**

I’m not sure

It was your idea so you can decide

 

**EVEN**

**13:42**

Well I’m free now and then I go to work at 15

 

_Work? Isn’t he a photographer? Maybe he has a shoot or something. With a famous model or-_

 

**EVEN**

**13:43**

I work at Kaffebrenneriet

in Skovveien

I’m sitting here now with my friend

 

_Still with that friend? Didn’t they get offended and leave after seeing you text with someone else this whole time?_

 

**ISAK**

**13:44**

I’m busy now

 

_Wow. The lies are just getting bigger and bigger now aren’t they Valtersen._

 

What about tomorrow

I’m free all day

 

_Aren’t you always on Sundays._

 

**EVEN**

**13:45**

Yeah that works! I start my shift at 15 like today

 

**ISAK**

**13:45**

Ok we can meet there

12?

 

**EVEN**

**13:46**

Perfect :)

 

Isak feels like he should add “ok bye” just to add an awkward cherry on top of this awkward pie of a conversation, but he stops himself in time. Instead, he just huffs loudly and takes a deep breath, staring at the pure white. _God, what a disaster of a conversation that was. Almost friends already, huh Magnus? More like clumsy strangers. Right. Magnus._

Isak gets up from the bed and speed walks to the kitchen. Magnus is there, sniffing a bunch of cookies his girlfriend apparently brought for them. When he notices Isak, he lifts up his head and shouts, all smiles.“Ah! Smell them, Isak! Smell them! It’s love!”

“It’s cookies.” Isak walks up to the counter and sits on it.

“ _Love_ and cookies. The greatest combination.” Magnus manages to say before he’s stuffing his face. Isak rolls his eyes at him, probably for the hundredth time this weekend.

“Magnus, stop stuffing your face with love. I need you to tell me about Even. Things are super awkward and we only texted. The real-life conversation is going to be hell.”

Magnus looks at him as if Isak’s crazy. “Conversation with Even is always nothing but pure pleasure! I told you, the guy has a way with words, he can talk about anything. It’s going to go perfectly smoothly.”

“God, Magnus, stop spitting crumbs at me and help me. And from the texts he’s sent me it doesn’t seem like he’s the best at making conversation with strangers.”

“Well, maybe he’s off his game today, you know? Everyone has bad days.”

“Wow, I’m impressed that you can admit that even your precious Even has bad days.” Isak takes the tray with cookies from him and, before Magnus can protest, takes it to his room and sets it on his bed. He closes the door behind him and sits on the couch.

“Now. Spill.”

“I told you before, Isak. Maybe back in high school-“

“UGHHHHH.”

“Okay. Spill what?”

“Everything. About Even. Maybe if I know more about him then our meeting tomorrow won’t be as bad.”

Magnus’ eyes widen and he’s instantly sitting beside Isak on the couch. “You’re gonna meet him? Tomorrow?”

Isak lets out an exaggerated “yes”. There’s a moment of silence and Magnus’ excitement quickly turns into suspicion. He narrows his eyes and looks at Isak closely. “Why the sudden interest? Out of the two of us, I thought I was the only one invested in this thing.”

Isak shrugs and looks around the room. Another moment of silence.

Magnus smiles. “Did he send you a picture?” Isak makes a little noise similar to a grunt, but much higher. Then, he starts admiring the door to the bathroom.

“He did, didn’t he?” Silence.

“I _knew_ it!” Magnus claps his hands and stands up. “I _knew_ you’d find him hot!”

Isak just sits there, on the couch, shifting his gaze from the bathroom door to the floor. _Not now, blush, damn you. Damn you to hell! It’s like I’m a teenager again._ Magnus seems to be congratulating himself on some victory only he’s aware of.

“So…” He rubs his hands after he’s calmed down a bit, though the satisfied smirk is still on his face. “How much? Out of 10?” Isak rolls his eyes and looks at him, arms crossed. Magnus keeps staring at him with a smile glued to his face. “10? 11? 12? 13? 21? Come on! Tell me!”

Isak graces Magnus with one more eye roll and starts heading for this room. “Isaaakk! Don’t leave me hanging like this, bro! Come onn!” Isak opens the door to his room and turns around to face his friend. Or enemy. He’s still not sure quite yet.

“I don’t have time for this.” _Wow. Today is truly the day of lies._ “And you’re not getting _any_ of the remaining cookies!” He slams the door behind him, just like his teenage self would.

From outside his room, he can hear Magnus’ pleading shout “Can I start replying to Even??!”

This is the twentieth time Isak has rolled his eyes today. “NO!”

He jumps on the bed and instinctively grabs for his phone. Instead, his hand finds the tray with the cookies. He’s never eaten anything made by Adela, to be honest. He’s never been one for sweets, but what the hell. He eats one and pushes the tray from him, mortified. _Fuck. What is this? Is this what heaven tastes like? Because it definitely tastes better than love, whatever amount of love Magnus is getting from Adela aside from those sweets she keeps bringing to the house. No wonder Magnus is always stuffing his face with these. Man, he’s on that road to diabetes._

Isak swears to himself he’s never going to taste anything made by this woman. Because if he’d start, he would not be able to stop.


	3. II.EVEN Part 1 - CREEP

Even’s nervously shifting in his seat and trying to dry off his clammy hands on his jeans. 11:45. Okay. He’s been sitting here for twenty minutes now. He can wait another fifteen. It’s better to be early just in case Isak likes to show up early when he’s meeting his soon-to-be-fake-boyfriends. Even wouldn’t know. How could he know? Ever since he’s received that photo from Magnus all he knows about Isak is that he has the most beautiful face he’s ever seen. Except for Sonja, of course. And all his female friends. He’s not comparing. That would’ve been rude. Oh, what the hell, he’s going to be as rude as he wants in his head. Isak’s fucking stunning. No one compares to him right now. Even’s been trying to mend his broken heart for a long time. He must have earned some right to be pining over someone else now. Even saw a photo of a guy and he’s been enamored ever since and he doesn’t care how superficial it sounds. If anyone says love at first sight superficial, they’ve clearly never fallen in love at first sight. 11:50. That’s fine. He’s not ordering any more coffee. That would be ridiculous. He’s had three already. And coffee isn’t the best drink for him, considering his tendency for jumpiness and impulsiveness. Three’s okay. He’s just going to be sipping his water once Isak gets here. _If_ he gets here. He said he hasn’t made up his mind yet. It would be great if Even managed to not scare him away today. Or any other day, if there are more Isak days to come. Well, to be honest, every day ever since Even saw that picture of Isak has been an Isak day. What makes a day an Isak day? Well, if Even’s spends more than 50% percent of his time thinking about Isak during the day, then it’s an Isak day. And he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him for the last four days. What does he like to do in his free time? What kind of music does he listen to? What does his voice sound like? Does he study? Does he work? Has he ever been in love? Does-

“Hi.”

Even’s train of thought is disrupted by a shy voice coming from above his table. He lifts up his head to find Isak staring down at Even’s hands. Even looks down and realizes he’s been doodling in his sketchbook the whole time he was thinking about Isak.

_Oh, great. Now he will think I just sit around at my place of work and doodle hearts and penises, like a creep. An infantile creep. Who draws hearts next to a penis? Someone who clearly hearts penises. Well, if that ain’t me._

“Uhh, hi.”

Even stands up abruptly, pushing the chair from under him that screeches mercilessly on the floor. A couple of people look at him with clear irritation painted on their faces. Even, the 2-meter giant, hovers awkwardly over just-the-right-size-for-a-20-something-year-old-man, who says with a shy, but amused smile,

“I’m Isak.”

Even shakes his hand a bit too enthusiastically and sits down again, shoving his sketchbook into the pocket of his winter jacket. Isak’s obviously gotten cold on his way here, rubbing his glove-covered hands and not taking either his jacket or his large fluffy scarf off. _God, it’s fluffy. Like his hair._ Isak’s cheeks are pink from the cold and his nose is pink from the cold just like in the picture, and Even is definitely staring.

“Um, I should order. Did you order?” Even’s once again is woken up by Isak’s voice and shakily replies

“Uh, yeah. I’ve had lots of coffee already. Enough for one day.” Even’s offering Isak his most awkward smile. “I’m just gonna stick to water now.”

“Okay, I’ll go and order.” Isak gets up again and comes up to the counter. Once he gets back, Even’s sketchbook is buried deep inside his jacket, his hands are definitely not clammy anymore thanks to the whole pack of tissues he’s just used and the water from his glass is almost gone, even though his mouth still feels dryer than ever.

“What did you get?”

“Uh, just simple. Black coffee.”

“No sugar?”

“No.”

Isak’s staring holes into his cup and Even nervously bites his lip, desperately trying to come up with something to say. Isak takes off his scarf, and, yup, here they are, the curls flying all over the place and bounce a bit on his forehead.

“So…Magnus hasn’t been replying to me at all lately. Are you sure he’s okay?” There’s a short pause and Isak looks a bit taken aback by the question.

“Uh, he’s just…having trouble with his phone. He’s fine. He misses…texting with you.”

“Oh? Yeah, I miss that too. I’m glad he’s okay though.”

“Yeah. He’s more than okay.” Isak starts smiling to himself a bit. “I mean, saying that he misses texting with you is a bit of an understatement.” Isak’s eyes widen and he offers Even a toothy smile.

_Oh, God. Look at these teeth._

“He misses you, that’s for sure. He’s constantly talking about you. And if he’s not talking about you, it’s because he’s stuffing his face with the sweets his girlfriend’s made. God.” Isak takes a small sip of coffee and giggles a bit to himself.

_Oh, God. That fucking sound._

“I’ve tasted one of her cookies yesterday. They were _incredible_. Magnus says her sweets are filled with love, but I’m sure it’s just a fuckload of sugar.”

_Look at him swearing. Music to my ears._

“I swear, even love can’t taste as sweet as those things she makes.” Isak adds, almost as if to himself. Even laughs heartily at that and says,

“You must have never tasted love, then.”

Isak looks at him, taken aback a bit.

_Oh, fuck. He looks offended._

“I mean…I didn’t mean to offend you, or assume stuff about you.” Even stutters quietly. “I just...” _Fuck it._ He might as well go for it and be himself. And if that proves to be too intense, like it does for many people, then-

“I mean, you know. Nothing’s sweeter than love. No cookies can measure up to that, come on.” Even’s words are genuine and his smile is genuine. He looks at Isak with hope in his eyes.

_Please don’t get thrown off by me being himself. I know I’m confusing. Just, please._

Isak doesn’t seem to notice Even’s silent plea. He just takes another sip of his coffee and smiles. “Well, those were some damn good cookies, so.” He looks up at Even and smiles smugly.

_Oh, God. He’s it. I know I tend to be dramatic and think impulsively, but he’s it._

Even straightens up and leans back on his chair.

“Were they from Adela?”

“Yup.”

“The brown ones, with pink cream and sprinkles on top?”

Isak narrows his eyes. “Yeah…”

Even nods and smiles. His game is back. “Yup. I helped her make those. They’re from my recipe.”

Isak looks at him silently.

“I mean, the recipe is from my grandmother, but I improved it a bit.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then a crooked smile appears on Isak’s lips. “What the fuck? She’s been cheating him with those? I thought she’s made them herself!”

“She did make them herself. She always makes them herself. I helped her a bit in the beginning, since we both love cooking, and sometimes we meet for small cooking sessions. We even skyped when I was on my internship.” Even attempts to wink. “Cook-skyped.”

“Oh, okay. So what, you helped her seduce Magnus with her cooking? She’s been feeding him long before they started dating.”

“I hope I helped a bit.” Even shrugs, raises his eyebrows and smiles.

There’s a pause, and Isak’s scanning Even with his eyes, as if to measure whether he can trust him. “Nah, bullshit. He was in love with her long before that.”

“So you’re saying my efforts were futile?”

“They certainly won’t prove futile once he gets diabetes.” Now it’s Isak’s turn to raise his eyebrows with a smile on his face.

_Oh, God. Oh, God._


	4. II.EVEN PART 2 - FOCUS

“Would you say banter is one of the essentials when it comes to relationships?” They’re walking down the streets and the freezing wind is blowing in their faces. There’s that magnificent blush again.  
Isak replies with no hesitation. “I mean, what’s the point in spending so much time with somebody if you have nothing to talk and joke about, you know? You both gotta be, like, on the same wavelength and shit.”  
“Okay. Okay. So, we like to banter. As a couple. We talk a lot-“  
“And over each other.” Almost half of Isak’s face is tucked into his scarf, but Even can still tell there’s that smirk he knows well by now hidden under the crimson cotton. He smiles to himself.  
“Fuck. I hate this wind.” Isak’s voice is muffled by his scarf. He’s hunching his arms and trying to keep his balance while walking. Even takes one look at him and quickly leads him by his arms to one of the doors leading to the block of flats they’ve just passed. The wind is not blowing as hard there. Isak is almost jumping on his tiptoes and rubs his arms and hands. Fucking adorable. After he’s warmed up a bit, he looks around and smiles.  
“What?”  
“I used to live here.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah, with a guy and two girls. I was in high school.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Mhmm.” Isak hums, buries his face inside his scarf again and his cheeks redden again. His face brightens at the sight of the door while he touches the blue-painted wood gently.  
“Was it nice?”  
“It was fucking great.” He smiles again, all teeth.  
_Oh, fuck._ Even’s pretty much gone by now. They’ve been meeting regularly for almost two weeks now, Even always avoiding the subject of when they should schedule to meet the guys. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen after they meet them. Will their arrangement be over? Will they keep it going for a while and then just go separate ways? They don’t spend a lot of time discussing what kind of couple they’d want to play, or what their habits as a couple would be. They haven’t even come up with a story of their first meeting. Even knows that Isak genuinely enjoys spending time with him, but he doesn’t know if he sees him as a friend, a friend of a friend, or potentially something more. The third option would be his favorite, since his crush has reached its limits by now and now he’s pretty much sure he’s falling for Isak. They mostly bicker, and when they discuss deeper things they do it lightly. They haven’t fought yet, even when they had discovered they had completely different opinions on some matters, from the best flavor of chips to politics. They’d always agree to disagree and later bring up the subject in a joking manner (Isak’s pretty hard on the subject of his favorite brand of coffee, though). They know all the usual stuff friends know about each other: which classes they take, what time their shifts end, what music they like to listen to, what’s their favorite food or drink. They don’t know the stuff couples know about each other, like what time do they usually go to sleep, what’s their childhood’s been like, what are their most desired dreams for now and the future, what their lips taste like-  
“I loved it. My friend, Eskild, helped me a lot back then. When I was, you know, coming to terms with myself, and stuff.” Isak finishes the sentence rather quietly, and Even immediately feels guilty for letting his mind drift off. How can he be daydreaming when Isak’s right in front of him? Despicable.  
“That’s great. I had supporting friends as well, but I had to realize a lot of stuff on my own. I’m sort of, like, self-taught in, like, how to express some emotions and the ways on how to deal with them...”  
Even smiles and tucks Isak’s face into his red scarf a bit more.  
“…Like in photography.”  
Isak rolls his eyes fondly. “Well, you need to up your selfie game, since you have no pictures of yourself anywhere.”  
“What do you mean, anywhere?”  
Isak looks caught off guard and burrows his face into his scarf.  
“Have you been stalking me?”  
Isak’s reply is immediate, but his playful smile is betraying him.  
“No.”  
“No?”  
“No!”  
Isak gently shoves Even which causes him to let go of Isak’s scarf. Isak doesn’t like that idea, apparently, since he grabs Even’s arm and almost inaudibly says: “No. Stay.” As requested, Even closes their distance and keeps tucking Isak’s face into the scarf. His face softens and he’s watching Isak getting comfortable in the cotton, before he quietly says,  
“Maybe I should start taking pictures of myself. Though I think like I’m losing focus then. I feel like my focus should be-“  
“On the things and people around you, yeah.” Isak interrupts him and fondly rolls his eyes again.  
Even smiles gently. “How did you know?”  
“I’m a mind reader.” Even makes and exaggerated shocked face. Isak huffs out a short laugh.  
“Magnus told me. That stuff with the focus sounds pretentious as shit.”  
“The words might sound pretentious, but the feeling’s genuine.”  
“Is it? You often look lost in thought to me. Sometimes I’m talking such bullshit and you don’t even bat an eye.”  
“What can I say? I’m trying very hard to be articulate around you and grace you with my impressive knowledge, but your face keeps distracting me.”  
Isak’s gaze drops to the ground and a silence falls between them. Even touches Isak’s cheek lightly.  
“I’m glad you’re not a mind reader, though. If you were, you’d often feel very confused.”  
Isak lifts his face and looks at Even with quiet confusion in his eyes. Even wiggles his eyebrows.  
“There are a lot of dirty thoughts in there.”  
Isak giggles and shoves Even again, but Even hold onto the scarf this time, tugging on it gently and bringing the two of them closer. Suddenly, the doors to the building they’ve been standing in front of open.  
“Isak?” Isak turns his face away from Even immediately and smiles at the sight of the man standing in the door.  
“Come here, my little baby gay.” Eskild opens his arms and Isak jumps in them. “  
I’m not a baby gay anymore, Eskiiild.” Somehow, Isak’s voice manages to be filled with both annoyance and love. “I’m a full-grown gay now.”  
“Yes, a full-grown baby gay.” Isak grunts into Eskild’s arm and Even silently watches the scene. His heart becomes a mix of warmth, anticipation, frustration at being interrupted and just a little tad of jealousy.


	5. III.ISAK + EVEN Part 1 - DOMESTOS

Isak fumbles around his closet until he finally finds the shirt he’s been meaning to show himself off to Even for a week now. Unfortunately, it’s turns out to be crumpled, which isn’t all that surprising, taking into consideration that it was lying on the bottom of his pile of clothes he has stuffed in his closet. Oh, well. Even won’t mind. But then again, if it’s as creased as it seems to be, it won’t show off his abs that much. Nah, it’s pretty tight. It’s gonna be fine. Isak throws the shirt and his hoodie on and almost runs out of his room.  
While he’s putting on his shoes, Magnus appears from his room and comes up to the kitchen counter, a big part of which is covered in cookies from his girlfriend, as usual.  
“Where you going?” Isak could swear that he developed a special ability of understanding this weird mouth-filled type of speech that Magnus offers him almost every time they talk.  
“To Even’s. He said I should get acquainted with his house before I meet his friends. You know, so that it seems like I spend a lot of time there.”  
“You can meet them outside of his house, though.”  
Isak starts putting his scarf on, not entirely satisfied with the way it hangs around his neck. Even does it so much better.  
“Well, but we don’t know if we’re gonna meet them once or a couple of times, and where. It’s better to be prepared.”  
”Oh, okay. Have fun then!” Isak turns around and looks at the cookies Magnus is holding in his hand. His mouth involuntarily waters a bit at the memory of the taste.  
“Do you know the truth about these cookies?”  
“What truth? That they’re my favorite ones?” Isak rolls his eyes.  
“Oh, that I’m gonna get diabetes because of them? Yeah, I know.” Magnus’ tone is dismissive and he goes back to munching on his girlfriend’s delicacies. Isak smiles fondly at him.  
“Yeah…that. I’m going!” He closes the door behind him and excitedly runs down the stairs.  
Even fumbles around his closet until he finally manages to find the jeans he’s been meaning to show off himself in to Isak. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t worn them in a long time, but he finds some brown stains at the bottom. Eh, whatever. Isak won’t mind. It’s about how my ass looks in them anyway. Ass is clean. I mean, the area on the jeans where ass should go is clean. That’s enough. He almost runs out of his room and checks the time. Okay. 13:12. Isak should be here soon. Is his house clean enough? I mean, his room is. Yousef’s room is always impeccable, and the door to Jonas’ room will simply remain closed. That’s the best strategy for him to not embarrass himself by his roommate’s untidiness just in case Isak is sensitive about this sort of thing.  
Even hears the buzzer at the door. Okay. Let’s do this. Dry the hands on the jeans. Drink a glass of water. You’re good. You’re not sitting in that coffee shop. It’s been almost three weeks. You know him. He knows you. You’re in love with him. He hopefully does not cringe at the thought of you. Nah, that can’t be right. Fuck. Buzzer again. Even finishes his glass of water and almost lands on his face while running on the slippery floor. Fuck. Maybe I cleaned up too much.  
“Hey!” He doesn’t even check who is at the door. He just opens it with one swift movement.  
“Hi.” Oh, it’s the most beautiful boy on earth. Thank God it’s not the mailman.  
“Come in.” Isak manages to take three steps into Even’s apartment after taking off his shoes before he slides on the floor and holds onto Even.  
“Fuck! What did you slick it up, lube?!” Even’s genuinely surprised at that comment and Isak looks positively mortified until they both break into laughter.  
“No, just, the cleaning stuff! I might have put a bit too much on it, though.”  
“Yeah.” Isak treads carefully on the floor until he reaches the nearest piece of furniture he can hold onto, which happens to be the kitchen counter.  
“Okay. I think I’m just gonna stand here for a while and hold onto this.”  
“Good idea.”  
Even cautiously walks up to on the cupboards near the kitchen counter and takes out a rag.  
“I gotta clean this up a bit.” “Do you need any help?”  
“Isak, please. I can take care of this.”  
Even dramatically rolls up his sleeves, gets on his knees and starts swiping the floor. He works in silence, lost in his thoughts as usual, thinking about which recipe for sweets he should use to impress Isak with his cooking skills, until he hears a quiet huff from behind him. He suddenly becomes aware how quiet it is in the apartment.  
“There’s a small radio on the kitchen counter. Turn some music on.”  
There’s a pause, until Isak says,  
“Like, a sexy music? Marvin Gaye, or something?”  
Even can hear Isak’s smile in his voice. “What?” He turns his head around and looks at Isak, leaning on the counter and watching Even.  
“Oh, for fucks sake.” They laugh. “Enjoying the view, huh?”  
Isak shrugs.  
“Okay, come here. I changed my mind. Not doing this myself.”  
Isak takes a rag from the same cabinet that Even did and kneels right next to him.  
“You know it’s not gonna work if we do the same part of the floor, right?”  
“What?”  
Isak furrows his brows and smiles smugly. “I don’t know what you mean.”  
Suddenly, they hear the door unlock and freeze momentarily. Through the door comes in a guy with a head full of black curls, sticking out in every possible direction after getting the wind treatment.  
“Jonas??” Both Isak and Even exclaim at the same time. Jonas is simply looking at them, frozen in the doorway, taking in the view of two guys, one in a very tight shirt and the other in a very tight pair of jeans kneeling next to each other on the floor with rags in their hands.  
“Uhh…Hey guys. What’s going on? What are you…doing?” He walks in and leaves his keys in the bowl by the entrance. He takes off his backpack and leans it against the closet, which immediately causes it to slide down on the floor entirely. He opens the closet and hangs his coat. Then, he starts taking off his shoes.  
“Don’t!” Both Isak and Even shout at the same time.  
Jonas looks at them in confusion. “O…kay.”  
There’s silence while they stare at each other. After a moment Jonas opens his mouth to say something.  
“I’m his boyfriend!!” Isak exclaims in a shaky voice and clumsily attempts to take Even’s hand in his, which only cause Even’s hands to slide down the floor and fall on his face.  
“Oh fuck!!” Isak takes Even’s face in his and tries to make them both get up.  
“Jonas! What the fuck?!” Jonas just stands there, dumbfounded for a second then quickly walks up to them and helps Isak get Even up from the floor.  
“It’s okay, I barely fell down.” Even mumbles and touches his face.  
“What have you done Jonas, seriously?” Isak looks at his friend and shakes his head, while Jonas is helping him to put Even on the couch (which is not easy since all three of them are sliding off the floor every few seconds).  
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but what just happened? What were you doing?” Jonas slides up to the sink and wets a clean piece of cloth to put it against Even’s face.  
“What did it look like we were doing, Jonas?”  
“I don’t know. Was it like, a sex thing? A kink thing?”  
Isak doesn’t know what to say, still too shy to come up with a comeback to a comment insinuating him and Even being intimate with each other, even if the comment is done in a joking manner.  
“Is that why Even was pressing us on telling him what time both of us would be home today?”  
“We were cleaning.” Isak huffs out and gently puts the cold damp cloth over the side of Even’s face he fell on.  
Even looks up at him and smiles gently. Isak returns the smile and slowly rubs the other side of his face with his thumb. They stare at each other silently, the feeling of warmth and domesticity feeling the room.  
“Are you okay?” Isak asks quietly.  
“It didn’t even hurt, I’m just enjoying you taking care of me.” Even teases. Isak smiles and rolls his eyes in the fondest way possible.  
“Shut up.”  
There’s a cough coming from behind them, and they both look over at Jonas, standing somewhat awkwardly.  
“So…Um. I know we’d said we’d both be back around 18 tonight, but I finished my classes sooner and Yousef is going to be back with the boys, in like, 15 minutes or something. He quit that horrible job and the guys had decided to celebrate, since they’re all free today.”  
Isak and Even look at each other in silent agreement.  
“Do you think…”  
“Are we ready?”  
“I don’t think…”  
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s wait a bit more.”  
“Yeah.”  
Isak smiles softly and gets up from the couch.  
“Be careful.” Even stretches out his arm in Isak’s direction protectively.  
“Okay. Bye, Jonas.”  
“I can walk you home.”  
“Sure.”  
Jonas gets up from the couch and, when they both reach the door, Isak and Even bid their goodbyes and walk out. On the street, merciless wind immediately hits their faces.  
“Fuck! I hate this wind.” They start walking in the direction of Isak’s apartment.  
“So…” Jonas starts. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”  
“Yeah. It was easier to see each other when we had more classes together.”  
There’s a pause.  
“Wait. Why the hell didn’t you tell me one of your roommates is called Even?”  
“I did tell you. Probably. Some time ago. I mean, you know I moved in like 3 months ago so it hasn’t been that long, but still. The four of us couldn’t keep on living in a 3-person apartment. Especially not when I was getting all the looks from Magnus’ girlfriend every time I brought in a girl. And you were probably tired of having to sleep on the couch, too.”  
“Yeah. I guess. Still, I liked having you there.”  
Jonas smiles. “I know. But we’re gonna be seeing each other a lot more often now, huh?” He raises his eyebrows.  
Isak hesitates for a moment before he replies.  
“Uh…I don’t know. I don’t think I’m, like, ready to meet Even’s friends. I mean, I think it’s a bit too soon.”  
Jonas laughs, short and gentle. “Whatever you say, bro. I’d say the guys aren’t ready to meet you.”  
Isak looks up at Jonas in confusion.  
“I mean, with the both of you being so gross with each other and you being all over Even.”  
“What?” Isak huffs in embarrassment and instinctively burrows his nose in his scarf.  
“You were sitting on his lap the entire time we were on the couch. You probably do that all the time, right? You know I hate when people do that. Just sit next to everyone, like a normal person. You know I’ve recently been to cinema and the girl in front of me was literally sitting on her boyfriend’s lap the entire time? What the hell. I couldn’t see shit. I mean, you wouldn’t be that rude, to do that in the cinema…”  
“Uh, yeah, of course I wouldn’t.” Isak’s voice was shaky and he was talking a bit too fast to seem believable.  
They’ve managed to battle the horrible wind and now both stand at the entrance to Isak’s building, both their hair a jungle of messy curls.  
Jonas laughs. “You look ridiculous.”  
“You look ridiculous.”  
“Fucking curls, man. Always doing what they like.”  
“Do you want to come in?”  
“I would, but I gotta clean that domestos shit off the floor before the guys come and kill themselves.”  
“Oh yeah. Even really went hard with this one.”  
“Yeah, he usually cleans when he stresses and he’s apparently been in a lot of stress the last month, so he’s been cleaning like crazy, even though we have shifts for that. He even cleaned my room two weeks ago.” Jonas shrugs his arms with a fond smile on his face. “Less work for me.” He looks at Isak a bit more intently than before.  
“Uh, you know they’d love you.”  
“Hm?”  
“The guys. You don’t have to stress. And, besides, the only thing that matters is what Even feels. If his friends can’t accept you into their circle, they can fuck off.”  
Isak’s smile is barely noticeable as he listens carefully, like he always does, whenever Jonas gives him advice or a peptalk.  
“But they’re gonna love you. Who doesn’t?”


	6. III.ISAK + EVEN Part 2 - SWEET

Isak’s woken up from his nap by a loud and fervorous knocking on the door to his room. He knows only one person who knocks like that.  
“Yeah, Ads? What’s up.” He sighs and sits up on the bed. He collapsed onto the bed right after he came home after experiencing the domestos disaster.  
Adela peeks through his door, almost in the same exact way Magnus does. “Hey, Issy. There’s someone here for you.” The expression on her face is very similar to the one Magnus wears each time Isak mentions hanging out with Even. Isak swears, if it weren’t for her long dark hair, she and Magnus could’ve been easily mistaken for twins.  
“Uh, okay. Who is it?” But Adela’s already gone from his room.  
Isak grunts and walks out, only to find Even excitedly discussing something with Magnus. They’re sitting on the couch, Adela on Magnus’ lap, and both of them staring at Even like he’s the answer to all of their questions, while Even animatedly gesticulates. When he notices Isak standing in the room, he immediately stands up and walks over to him.  
“Hi.” He smiles, all teeth and longing.  
“Hi.” Isak shyly replies, looking over at Adela and Magnus, who look at them with knowing smiles on their faces.  
“Let’s…go to my room, yeah?” Isak takes Even’s hand and retrieves inside his small fortress of calm and boredom, away from the nosey stares. They stand in the small area and Isak notices a small redness on Even’s left cheek.  
“Does it hurt?” Isak touches his cheek gently.  
“I’m a big boy, Isak.” Even chuckles.  
“Very big.” Isak smiles, all teeth, but then his face falls, when he sees Even looking at him with question in his eyes.  
“I mean, like, tall. You’re so tall, dammit.” Even laughs heartily.  
Isak looks around his room. “Do you want to sit down?”  
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”  
Make out.  
“I don’t know.” Isak mumbles and shrugs.  
They keep standing close to each other, in a small space of Isak’s room, their faces almost touching, their arms hanging awkwardly at their sides.  
“I don’t want to meet your friends.” Isak suddenly blurts out. “I mean…I just want to keep hanging out with you. Without like, worrying if we’re close enough for them to not notice that we’re not a couple.”  
“We’re not?” Even’s voice is quiet.  
Isak looks like a deer caught in the headlights, like his innermost desire was just said out loud in the form of a question.  
“Are we?” he almost whispers.  
“I don’t know, Isak.” Even lightly brushes Isak’s hand with his thumb. “We’re doing all the things couples do, don’t we? We get coffee, we eat meals together, we talk, we joke, we laugh…I spend more time with you than with anyone else.”  
“Yeah but that’s just what friends do.” Isak whispers and Even is taken aback by the softness in his voice.  
“What do friends not do that we could?” Even whispers back and gently touches the tip of Isak’s nose with his. Isak’s eyes are glued to Even’s lips, as they’ve been for a while now. With heavy eyelids and slightly open mouth, he says,  
“You know what.”  
“I don’t know. What?”  
“You _know_.”  
There’s a pause and then there’s a plea in Even’s voice.  
“I do. Tell me though.”  
They keep staring at each other lips, until Even licks his own and whispers, barely audibly: “Tell me.”  
And Isak presses his lips to his, ever so gentle, a kiss resembling the whispers they’ve been exchanging. After that, Even starts delicately pecking Isak’s lips, enjoying the shyness and innocence only a first kiss could convey.  
When their lips part, Isak sighs, quietly and contently. Even smiles, and whispers again.  
“Was it better?” Isak looks like he’s been woken up from a trance.  
“What?”  
“Was it better than the cookies?” Isak catches up with Even’s train of thought and smiles, still looking at Even’s lips.  
“Yeah. So much better.” He looks up at Even. “Fuck the cookies.”  
Even smiles and manages to mumble before Isak wraps his arms around him and they stumble into the bed,  
“And it was just the kiss. Wait ‘til you taste the love.”  
_Fuck me. He does have a way with words sometimes._  
They keep on kissing lazily until it turns into a makeout session and Isak is whimpering gently while Even strokes his hair and his back. Once they stop, they are panting quietly and they keep nuzzling their faces together. Isak puts his leg over Even’s waist and holds him close to him.  
“What do you want to do?” Even whispers after his breath has calmed down a bit.  
“I told you. I just want to hang out with you.” Isak looks up at Even. “And kiss. Kiss a lot.”  
Even smiles and brushes Isak’s face with his hand.  
“Like couples do.”  
“Like couples do.”  
“We can take it slow. Or fast. Or just go with the flow. Whatever you want.”  
Isak smiles dreamily, closing his eyes while Even strokes his cheek.  
“I think, I just want to lay here now.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Mhm. We can lay here, staring at the ceiling, or you can stare at the ceiling while I’m staring at you, or I can stare at the ceiling while you stare at me…It’s whatever.” Isak opens his eyes and touches his nose with Even’s.  
Even breaks into a cheerful smile. “Wow. That’s a lot of ceiling-staring.”  
Isak shrugs. “I don’t know. That’s what I usually do, before falling asleep. Just stare at the ceiling. But now, we could, like, do it…together.”  
“Whatever you want. I love the idea of doing anything with you.”  
Isak makes a quiet sound of contentment. After a pause, he says, “Mhm. I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep, though. I’m way too excited.”  
I’m too excited thinking about waking up here next to you, he thinks, but doesn’t say it because before he can open his mouth to speak, his lips are already joined with Even’s. This is good. This is calm. Peaceful. Sweet. It’s just enough happiness for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope I managed to put a smile on your face :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope I managed to put a smile on your face :)


End file.
